


Milk and Cookies

by iam93percentstardust



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blood Magic, Dark Magic, Gen, Horcruxes, Imperius, Poison, Slytherin's Locket
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-11-07 18:07:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11064351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iam93percentstardust/pseuds/iam93percentstardust
Summary: Tom Riddle thought that he would never see Slytherin’s locket, the heirloom of his heritage. He’s stunned when he manages to find it in the possession of an old witch and decides that he has to take it back.





	Milk and Cookies

Tom stared at the heavy gold locket. He reached out, grasped it, and held it up to the light. His eyes fell on the glittery, serpentine S.

“Slytherin’s mark,” he said quietly.

“That’s right!” said Hepzibah. She sounded delighted. Tom could only imagine at what. “I had to pay an arm and a leg for it, but I couldn’t let it pass, not a real treasure like that, had to have it for my collection. Burke bought it, apparently, from a ragged-looking woman who seemed to have stolen it, but had no idea of its true value-”

She prattled on but Tom didn’t hear her. His heart had clenched at the casual mention of his mother. Hepzibah had made her sound like an idiot but Tom knew that his mother had known the treasure she’d once had. The question was why she had sold it.

Hepzibah reached out to take the locket back. Tom wasn’t so sure that he wanted to let go but it wasn’t the right time. The necklace slipped through his fingers to rest in its velvet case.

“So there you are, Tom, dear, and I hope you enjoyed that!” She looked up at him and her ridiculous smile. “Are you all right, dear?”

Tom realized that the red gleam must still be in his eyes and he quickly composed his features. He gave her a brief smile. “Oh yes,” he murmured. “Yes, I’m very well…”

“I thought- but a trick of the light, I suppose-” Tom had the brief fear that perhaps she had seen the longing in his eyes. But she seemed to dismiss the possibility as quickly as it had occurred to her.

“Here, Hokey,” she continued, her voice regaining its strength. “Take these away and lock them up again- the usual enchantments.” Within a moment, she had returned to her simpering self. Tom paid her no attention though and he left a few minutes later, his mind whirling with the possibilities.

He leaned against the wrought iron fence. So it was to Hepzibah Smith that Burke had sold Slytherin’s locket to! He’d long suspected that this was the case. Why else would Burke keep sending him back to Hepzibah’s home? There were other shop boys he could have sent but Tom guessed that it was because he was best as wheedling secrets out of others.

Tom remembered the feel of the locket in his hands, how right it had felt. The locket had called out to him, the only remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin. It had grown warm in his touch, at having been held by its rightful owner for the first time in over twenty years.

And Hufflepuff’s cup? Tom couldn’t have seen that one coming even if he’d been given warning. He was surprised to hear that Hepzibah Smith was Helga Hufflepuff’s descendant. It just didn’t seem right; she just didn’t exhibit any of Hufflepuff’s traits. He didn’t think that she’d ever worked a day in her life. If there was anything that she was loyal to, it was her treasures and not her family.

It wouldn’t be any good trying to convince Hepzibah to give up her treasures. He’d once heard her call them her children. She measured herself by the worth of her possessions. No, it would be futile to try to convince her to give them to him or even just to sell them.

But there might be another way.

Ever since Tom had started coming to the Smith home, he’d been less than impressed by Hokey, Hepzibah’s house-elf. It seemed that the witch kept the elf alive out of affection for her. To Tom, it just didn’t make any sense. Hokey was long past the age of usefulness. He would have been rid of her years ago.

He was grateful now for Hepzibah’s sentimentality. It had given him the idea he needed to gain Hufflepuff’s cup and Slytherin’s locket.

After Burke let him leave for the evening, Tom returned to the Smith home. He studied Hokey as she went about her evening chores. He found it interesting that Hepzibah went to bed at an early hour after a cup of hot cocoa with extra sugar. He Disapparated back to the store and returned within a few minutes. There wasn’t much change in the house.

Then, at a quarter to eleven, Hokey emerged with an enormous bag of garbage. Tom was a bit confused- most wizards simply Vanished their garbage instead of taking it out like a common Muggle. Again, though, he didn’t complain as it suited his plans.

He crept up behind Hokey. “ _Imperio_ ,” he whispered. Hokey went still. He handed her a small vial of Veritaserum. “Drink it.”

Obediently, Hokey drank the potion. Tom sat back and wondered what he wanted to ask first. He was burning to ask about the locket but thought it was better to wait. He didn’t know what sort of enchantments might be on Hokey herself to keep her from talking.

“Does Hepzibah drink a cup of hot cocoa every night?” he finally asked.

Hokey nodded. “Mistress always likes her cocoa,” she said tonelessly.

“Does she like anything added to it?”

“An extra teaspoon of sugar,” Hokey replied.

“So you could switch it out for something else? There isn’t anything stopping you from changing the sugar?”

Hokey stared at him. “Why would I do that?” He silently ordered her to just answer the question. “Yes, I could switch the sugar out.”

Tom smiled coldly. It was the answer he’d been hoping for. From his pocket, he drew out the other item he’d grabbed from the store- a small, deadly, little-known poison. It was quick-acting, almost impossible to detect, and had no known antidotes. Perhaps it was overkill, Tom thought, but it was better to overdo the job than to underdo it.

“Tomorrow evening, you will put a teaspoon of this in Hepzibah’s cocoa instead of sugar. Do you understand?” he queried.

“Yes, I understand,” she said in her high, squeaky voice. It grated on Tom’s nerves and he couldn’t wait to leave. But there was one more matter to deal with.

“What can you tell me about Hufflepuff’s cup?” he asked cautiously, hoping that Hepzibah’s better nature had stopped her from putting any sort of Secrecy Charm on Hokey.

“What would you like to know?” Hokey replied.

“Where is it hidden?”

“Under Mistress’s bed. There is a safe.” She shuddered. “I don’t like the spells on it.”

“Is the locket there as well?”

Hokey nodded, her eyes growing wide and fearful. “But there are terrible spells on the safe!”

“What spells?” Tom asked. He couldn’t imagine that Hepzibah Smith would have truly terrible spells guarding anything of hers.

But Hokey clutched at her arm. Tom could just barely make out faint scars on her arm- it looked like a knife had been taken to the skin. His respect of Hepzibah rose a small amount. A blood spell was the exact sort of thing that he would have done. It was no matter though; a blood spell was easy enough to pass by once you knew how.

“Is there anything else guarding the items?” he asked.

Hokey shook her head. “No, sir, nothing else.”

Tom noted the addition of the honorific and figured that the Veritaserum was beginning to wear off. “Good,” he said quietly. “You will return to Hepzibah. You will say nothing of the conversation. In fact, you will forget you ever even had it. You will act as you always do because nothing is wrong.” With that, he allowed Hokey to return to the house. Even so, he didn’t lift the Imperius Curse from her.

The following evening, when Hokey came to take the garbage out, Tom followed her back in. He went immediately to Hepzibah’s room. As he had planned, the witch was dead. He checked her pulse just to be doubly sure. Then, he called for Hokey.

The house-elf came readily enough. Tom handed her a knife. “Open the safe,” he ordered.

It was done in an instant. Tom held up the cup and the locket, watching them glitter in the faint light. He felt a wild sort of happiness. He was getting closer, he knew, to immortality. He checked the safe to see if there was anything else of particular value but there was nothing. Well, it had been a faint hope anyway.

He turned back to the house-elf. “Put the safe back, the usual enchantments,” he told her. As she finished, he rose and returned to the kitchen, Hokey trailing behind him.

Tom pointed at a small seat beside the fireplace. “You will remain here until morning and then you will go about your duties. You will forget that you have ever seen me since yesterday afternoon. Should anyone ask about Hepzibah, you will tell them that you think you put sugar in her cocoa but you aren’t certain.”

With that, he turned and walked out the door. At a suitable distance, he removed the Imperius Curse from Hokey and then Disapparated into the night. Once he’d returned to his flat, he began to pack. At this point, there was no further need to remain employed at Borgin and Burkes.

It was time instead to begin the process of immortality.


End file.
